Call for market probe after Eyre Square left a muddy mess

A city councillor has called for ‘a root and branch investigation’ of the operation of the Christmas Market at Eyre Square after he claimed that the area had been left in a ‘very poor state’ following last December’s event.

Cllr. Padraig Conneely claimed that conditions laid down by the City Council in relation to the operation of the market were ‘not strictly adhered to’ on a number of issues.

“We now require a root and branch investigation of the operation of the Christmas Market – its location, its operation methods, its impact on the Eyre Square grass area and its overall impact on the city,” said Cllr. Conneely.

He also said that the impact of the Christmas Market on the weekly St. Nicholas’ Market should be taken into account in any review, while he also claimed that the deadline in relation to the payment of the operational fee to the City Council had not been adhered to.

“The market promoters also failed to inform the City Council – as per their conditions – that Lidl would be erecting 11 stalls in Eyre Square as part of the Christmas Market.

“A public space, such as Eyre Square, is for the recreational use of the Galway public and visitors to the city,” said Cllr. Conneely.

He also claimed that only half of the agreed operational fee of €30,000 had been paid to the City Council, as of this week, and he asked: ‘when will the remainder of this fee be paid up?’.

A spokesman for the City Council told the Galway City Tribune that any remedial works that needed to be carried out to restore the green area of Eyre Square, would be undertaken by their Parks Committee at no cost to the city.

“The Market promoters pay a fee of €30,000 for the Eyre Square area and in addition to that they provide a bond of a further €20,000 to cover any cost that could arise in terms of carrying out any remedial works.

“Where grass areas are covered in the mid-winter period there will be some temporary impact on the grass area, but certain measures were put in place for last year’s market to minimise any such damage.

“Our Parks Committee has closely monitored the condition of Eyre Square and is fully confident that it will be in pristine condition again by the late spring, early summer period.

“The only constraint on them at the moment, in terms of completing this work, is the lack of growth in the mid-winter period, but you can take it, that the Square will be in perfect shape again over the coming months,” said the City Council spokesman.

He also confirmed that while €15,000 had been paid by the market organisers up until now, the City Council had been assured that the outstanding €15,000 would be paid up ‘over the coming days’.

He also pointed out that the decision to have the Christmas Market in Eyre Square was one taken at a full meeting of the City Council after all the issues had been carefully considered.

“The decision to go ahead with the Christmas Market came before a full meeting of the City Council and was passed by 17 votes to one,” said the spokesman.